Magicbending
by Dark Puck
Summary: Haru, Teo, and Zuko are accidentally Portkeyed to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Hilarity Ensues. Takes place during Order of the Phoenix.
1. Chapter 1

**Warning: **Takes place after _the Firebending Masters_. Includes some of my personal crackship because I refuse to let it go. Ever. To that effect, the events of _Just One Night_ are considered canon to this fic. Some parts of the story are from necessity lifted directly from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_. Neither of us is precisely thrilled about it, but it had to be done. There are several events where the _Avatar _characters' presence will not interfere with the actual outcome. The point is not to demonstrate to the _Potter_ cast that they are doing it wrong, but to show how the _Avatar_ cast would adapt to this strange new world.

Furthermore, this story was started before _the Boiling Rock_ was leaked, and so the events of those two episodes shall have no effect on the story. On with the show!

* * *

Thanks to the confused tangle of limbs and clothes, it was a few moments before Teo, Haru, or Zuko noticed that something was wrong. To that, it was Zuko who noticed first, as Haru was checking Teo over for injuries while the younger boy insisted he was fine.

"…We're not at the temple anymore," the erstwhile prince said abruptly.

Haru glanced up at him. "What? How do you…?" His voice trailed off as he stared at the completely random trees surrounding them.

The younger man frowned, examining one of the trees closely. "…I've never seen trees like these before," he said, softly.

"Me either," Teo said. "Haru, could you help me into my… oh…" There was no sign of the young teen's wheelchair.

"…What. The hell. Is that." Zuko was staring at what, to Teo at least, appeared to be empty space between two of the trees.

"What is what?" Teo asked as Haru turned his head the same way.

The oldest boy stiffened. "It… looks like some kind of lizard-horse…"

Frowning, Teo glanced from one bender to the other. "What are you _talking_ about? I can't see anything!"

"…Something is definitely wrong here," Zuko muttered, not taking his eyes off the seemingly invisible lizard-horse.

"Very, very wrong," breathed Haru as he scooped Teo up into his arms. "May I suggest we back away slowly?"

He nodded. "I'll go last."

The older bender didn't argue. He moved to one side, keeping one eye on the ground in front of him and another eye on the empty space. Zuko backed away after him, keeping his eyes on the space where the lizard-horse seemed to be.

"The edge of the forest is half a mile behind us," Haru reported softly. A pause, and then, "… I think."

By this time, the lizardhorse was screened off by trees, so Zuko turned to walk forwards. "…Strange. Trees're getting closer together."

"I know," Haru replied. "This forest is excessively weird."

The younger man nodded, and drew his swords. Just in case.

Teo kept looking around, his wide grey eyes taking in everything surrounding them — and then he looked up. "…you m-might wanna go f-faster…"

"What is it?" Zuko asked, following his gaze.

A monstrous insectoid with eight hairy legs was staring at them, crouched in a tree. "…You two run. I'll hold it off," the prince muttered, then, without waiting for a response, launched himself up at the insectoid.

"Idiot!" Haru snapped as the thing scuttled around the tree. "You didn't have to provoke it!"

"I was trying to distract it so you two could get away!" Zuko snapped back.

"Duck!" shouted Teo.

He chose not to, rather spinning and bringing his swords up, hoping to gut the creature as it came back around. Instead, something sticky attached itself to the blades, all but gluing them together. The insect chittered at them.

Zuko swore and tried to set the beast on fire.

_That_ worked; the creature howled and fell back, trying to douse the flames. "Run, you idiot!" yelled Haru, letting go of Teo with one arm for a split second to jerk Zuko towards him. "It's all of us or none of us!"

"No, I'll hold it off, so at least _some_ of us can get out of this!"

In response, Haru slammed his foot down; a boulder flew from the ground and hit the insect again, throwing it further away and pinning some of its legs. "_All_ of us! _Now_!"

"Stop arguing and _move_!" Zuko shouted, trying to unstick his swords.

The insect screamed again and again, causing Teo to put his hands over his ears. "I think it's calling for reinforcements!"

"RUN, dammit!" the prince shouted. "I'll come last!"

"_No_, you'll come _with_!" Haru snapped back. "We need you!"

"Someone has to bring up the rear and keep those things from getting too close," Zuko pointed out. "_Go_, I'm coming."

"If you make me come after you, there will be _Words_," Haru promised, resuming his retreat.

The prince counted to ten, then shot a second fireblast at the creature and took off after the others, pausing every minute or so to check and make sure the insect (and its equally-large and many-legged friends) kept their distance.

The fire seemed to be enough to keep them away, but it wasn't easy to tell. Finally, he made it out of the forest — and stumbled right into Haru.

"…Why'd you stop?" he asked, tearing off part of his shirt to stop his arm bleeding — he'd cut it on a treebranch while running.

"Zuko?" It was Teo who spoke. "Just look."

He looked.

A large stone building greeted their eyes, topped with spires and glass windows and just generally very very strange.

"…That looks…like a very oddly-constructed palace," Zuko said, after a moment.

"It's _huge_," breathed Haru.

"Not as big as the Northern Air Temple," Teo decided.

"…Do we want to check there for shelter? It's about to rain." The prince pointed up at the gathering thunderclouds.

"I don't think we have much choice," Haru muttered. "There's a strange house that's closer, but I wouldn't trust it to keep rain out."

"…Nor would I," Zuko said, just as the clouds opened up.

"Go!" Haru suited action to words, pelting for the odd palace.

Zuko followed at a run.

"You knock," said Haru once they'd arrived, breathing heavily. "My arms are full."

The prince nodded, and pounded on the door.

Haru fell back slightly, shifting Teo in his arms and wishing the wheelchair had come with them. He didn't mind carrying the younger boy, but Teo was thirteen years old and a growing child. He was not a light burden.

Zuko's knock was answered by a severe-looking woman with dark hair pulled back into a tight bun. "…Yes?"

Haru put on a smile. "Um, hi. We're… a little lost, and were hoping you might offer shelter from the rain?"

She eyed them for a long moment, then stood aside, pulling the door open.

"Thank you," Haru said, entering first.

"You're welcome," she said, as Zuko followed the older bender.

Once inside, it took all of Haru's self-control to keep his jaw from dropping open. The place had clearly been designed by a madman. Zuko's eyes — or, at the very least, his good eye — widened, taking in the entrance hall.

It was Teo who noticed the small details. "Whoa! Did that painting just _move_?!"

"Yes, I did," the painting told him. "Minerva, that one's bleeding."

"I saw."

Haru jumped. "What the hell?!"

"Come with me, please," the woman — Minerva, apparently — told them, then started heading off further into the building.

The boys exchanged a glance, and then did as they were instructed. The floor was cold to Haru's bare feet, but he was picking up the weirdest things from the stones and was thus loathe to request shoes. Toph's teachings were both blessing and curse.

Zuko, too, was suspicious, and kept his swords (still mostly stuck together) out and ready for anything. They were led to a smaller room containing another woman, who took a look at Zuko's arm, tutted, and drew a stick of wood from her robes.

He watched both woman and stick suspiciously.

Pointing the stick at his arm, she said, "_Condico__!_" Before their startled eyes, the cut healed instantly. This only made the prince's suspicion of her, "Minerva," and this entire place increase.

Now the woman turned to Haru. "Now him."

Haru took a step back. "What about him?" He apparently was as suspicious as Zuko.

"She can help," 'Minerva' said quietly.

"Help what? I'm fine," Teo insisted. He, however, simply sounded confused.

The unnamed woman arched an eyebrow. "You've obviously hurt one of your legs."

"Oh — I can't walk," Teo corrected her. "I've been like that since I was a baby."

'Minerva' turned to the unnamed woman and arched an eyebrow.

"Was it an injury to your legs, or to your back?" the woman asked the boy.

"I'm not sure," Teo said. "Things were… very confusing at the time."

"Well, it's still fixable."

"I'll leave them with you, then, Poppy," Minerva said, then left the room.

"Fixable? Fixable _how_?" Haru asked. "Everyone knows back injuries are permanent!"

The woman — Poppy — merely raised an eyebrow. "And you found this place with that sort of attitude?"

Zuko, in the background, simply focused on cleaning off his swords, letting Haru do all the talking. He hardly knew Teo, after all. He had no right to get involved. Though if this Poppy woman wasn't telling the truth…

"Here," she was saying now, "Drink this—"

Haru cut her off. "What's in it?"

"…you're not very trusting, are you?"

"Trust gets you nowhere," the older bender replied. "What's in it?"

The woman told him, and Haru eventually nodded. "Very well."

Zuko smiled a little at the older bender's paranoia. Better safe than sorry, after all.

She gave Teo the drink, which he obediently guzzled, and made a face. "Ew."

'Poppy' was giving Haru instructions. "If he's been unable to walk from childhood, he'll need to be taught. Are you willing to do—"

"Yes," Haru said promptly.

"And he'll need to take a dose every week, or it will wear off," she warned him. "We haven't developed a safe, permanent fix yet."

Zuko hung around in the background, watching. His swords had finally separated, but he didn't yet put them away.

"Minerva should be waiting out in the hall to show you to a room," Poppy said. "All of you, out!"

The prince led the way out.

"Haru?" said Teo in a small voice.

Zuko said nothing, just kept moving. He _hated_ infirmaries.

"What is it?"

"My legs feel… kinda funny."

"How so?"

"…I can _feel_ them."

…_And what happens when this goes away_? the younger of the two benders thought, morosely.

Haru stopped them before they got to Minerva again. Checking to make certain there were no portraits around – there was one, but the occupant appeared to be sleeping – he called Zuko back. Lowering his voice to be safe, he said, "We'll need some kind of story to tell these people when they want to know where we came from. And that story has to match up between all three of us."

"Agreed," the prince said. "Are we keeping our real names?"

Haru nodded. "Teo's already used mine—"

"Sorry," muttered the younger boy.

"Don't worry about it — and it'd be easier. We can easily establish that we came from a small, isolated place, which would also explain why we didn't know about the fix."

After a moment's consideration, the other boy nodded. "Right, then. What about history? How much of it do we tell?"

"Well, sooner or later it'll come up that we've been involved in a war. Just from reactions you and I might have to…um, surprises. So we have to leave that in."

"Right."

Haru frowned, setting Teo down so the younger boy could try to get his feet. He wobbled, but the older bender steadied him. "Just try to stand for now," Haru told him. "Get your balance."

"Right."

After another few moments, Haru nodded. "Okay. I think I've got it. We're originally from an island cut off from the outside world. There's a taboo against leaving, which would account for nobody every hearing of us."

"Civil war, then?" Zuko suggested.

"Yeah. …let's go with your village versus ours, since it's true enough."

"That won't account for — whoa! — us being friends with him, though." Teo clung unsteadily to Haru's hands as he tried to maintain his own balance.

"Sure it will," Haru replied easily. "We're refugees, all of us. We banded together to make surviving on our own easier."

"And the two of us are young enough that they'll believe we haven't been drafted."

"…yet," Haru said. "I'm almost eighteen. Teo, you're from the same village as me. Your dad entrusted you to my care when I left."

"Mm-hmm."

Zuko shrugged. "My point is, there won't be awkward questions as to why we were allowed to leave, and why neither of us was in the military."

Haru smiled slightly. "Who said anything about 'allowed'?"

"…wait, are you saying you — ack! — left to get away from the draft?"

The boy nodded.

Zuko smiled slightly. "Fair point."

"I'll let you make up your own mind about if you left to avoid it or for another reason, Zuko," Haru said. "Okay, Teo, can you handle it on your own?"

"I think so?"

Haru moved his hands, and Teo wobbled, but stayed upright. "I've got it! Haru, Zuko, I've really got it!"

Despite himself, Zuko smiled slightly.

"Anything else?" Haru asked. "We don't want this Minerva to get too suspicious."

The prince shook his head. "Not that I can think of."

"Okay, let's go find her. Teo, grab my hands and take a step. Might as well work on this walking thing for you."

The younger boy nodded and took hold of Haru. They made slow, wobbly progress to where the severe woman waited for them.

She nodded when she saw them, seeming satisfied. "Follow me," she said again, then led them on through the strange building.

Teo refused to let Haru carry him again, but after while, Haru picked him up anyway despite his protests. "You're using your legs for the first time, kid," Haru told the sulking boy. "You've gotta build up the muscle. You'll tire quickly at first."

Minerva led them to a small room with three beds.

"Thanks," said Haru, setting Teo down on one of them.

"You're welcome," Minerva said, then left the three of them alone.

She'd been gone for less than a minute when Zuko stood up to leave.

"Recon, Zuko?" Haru asked mildly.

"Something like that," he said, as he left the room.

"…he's not very social, is he?" Teo asked Haru.

"You'd be surprised," the older boy murmured.

Zuko finally rejoined them long after dark.

Teo had gone to sleep; Haru was watching him. "Find anything?" he asked, not looking at the prince.

"The staircases move."

Haru was silent for a long moment. "…move, you say."

"Yes. They move." Zuko sounded rather annoyed with this fact.

"…what the hell kind of place have we come to?"

"I wish I knew." He perched on the end of one of the beds, fidgeted a little, then stood up to leave again.

Haru rose as well. "Not without me you don't."

Zuko turned around and arched his eyebrow. "I'm just going to find someplace to drill for a few hours."

"He's sleeping. I need to look around too. And I'm not willing to get out of shape while we're here, since we don't know how long it'll be."

"…Fine then." He turned again and continued exiting.

The earthbender followed in silence, closing his eyes and letting his feet and his ears guide him.

Zuko found an empty room and let himself in. Haru noted the size of the room and decided to continue on. He paused first. "Zuko — should we keep quiet about the bending?"

"…Yeah. Probably."

"Right. I'll let Teo know when he wakes up."

Zuko nodded, then set about his drill. Haru closed his eyes again and continued to explore the castle.

* * *

_Author's Note from Puck: Some of you are probably displeased with the choice we've made regarding Teo and his new ability to walk. This was a choice made after considering all the possible factors, specifically the factors that Hogwarts has about a million zillion staircases and that, wizard kids tending to be destructive, someone might try to push him and his chair down the stairs. My cowriter and I both believe that Teo is much more awesome in his wheelchair, hence the fix not being permanent. This was **not** done for potential angst, because angst just does not **work** with Teo._


	2. Chapter 2

The inevitable questions finally came three days later, from the first woman they'd met.

"Where did you three come from?" she asked, the third day after they arrived.

Teo, walking around the room in a shaky circle, jerked in surprise and lost his balance. Haru, however, didn't even blink. "Home," he replied, as if it should have been obvious. "It's a pretty big island. Not sure exactly where, though."

"Is that so?" she asked, eyeing them sharply over her glasses.

"Nobody leaves the island," Haru explained. "It's forbidden by the elders on both sides."

"…on both sides?"

Zuko stood up and walked to the window. Haru was a better liar than he was, it made sense to let him do all the talking.

"There's a civil war on the island," said the older boy. "Nobody's quite sure what started it, though."

"…I'm sorry to hear that. You ran away?" Minerva McGonagall was not a stupid woman.

"…yes and no," Haru said. "I ran. Teo here was entrusted into my care by his father."

"And what about you?" she asked, turning to Zuko.

"I couldn't do it anymore."

"Zuko's from the other side of the island," Haru then explained. "We stuck together because it made surviving out there easier."

"I see." Thankfully, she didn't press.

"We still don't know how we got _here_, though," the earthbender added then.

"…Really?" She considered a moment. "Would you please tell me what happened, as much as you know?"

"Well, Teo here spied a statue and wanted to get a look at it."

"I couldn't really get close to it," the thirteen-year-old put in, "'cause of my wheelchair. So Zuko and Haru picked me up and held me close so I could. I touched it, and then we were all… well, _jerked_ to that forest."

"…A Portkey, then."

All three children — well, Haru and Zuko were both seventeen — stared at her. "A what?"

"…they don't use Portkeys on your island?" she asked, arching an eyebrow. Without waiting for a response, she explained.

"We don't use magic like you do," Haru said once she was done. "It's… more of a religious thing." True if you looked at it from the left, tilted your head to the right, and squinted a bit.

"…I see. Ah, that reminds me." Out of her pocket, she pulled three letters out of a pocket and handed one to each boy.

"…uh. What does it say?" Haru asked, turning the parchment around as if it would make sense from a different angle.

"…You use a different script on your island. Ah. Well, then." Minerva explained the alphabet to them.

Haru frowned. "So you use twenty-six characters? That's… strange."

"Our alphabet is phonetic," she explained.

"So we have to learn your writing system before we can read these?" Teo asked.

"Yes."

"…fun," Haru declared at last. "Let's get started, then."

"If you need any help, please just ask me."

Haru nodded, already studying the letter intently. Zuko did so with his, perched on the edge of his bed. It was Teo who asked for parchment, brushes, and ink so they could practise the shapes of the phonetic characters.

Minerva provided them willingly.

All three of the boys were quick learners; in only a few days, they were puzzling out the letters, more or less.

"…this word doesn't make _sense_!" Teo complained. "What is a 'Hogwarts'?"

"Why, that's the school, dear," one of the portraits told him, cheerfully.

Haru glared daggers at the portrait — damn it, pictures weren't supposed to _talk_! — while Teo thanked it. "I guess it makes sense as a name…"

Zuko had wandered off again to drill in the meantime. He spent very little time in the room, something that annoyed Haru to no end. Until they had a better grasp of this place and its culture, the earthbender felt they ought to stick together.

The prince, however, seemed to feel that exploration and continued drilling were more important — either that, or he didn't feel quite like one of them, and didn't want to impose himself upon them. Or possibly both reasons. It was hard to tell.

Teo glanced at the earthbender. "…you can go find him if you want," he offered. "You don't need to baby-sit me all the time."

Haru flushed slightly. "It's not that I think you're helpless, Teo—"

"I know that. We both fought on the Day of Black Sun." The boy smiled wryly. "But you're going nuts in here. Go find Zuko. I'll be fine."

He glanced at Teo, nodded, and slipped out of the room.

Given the confusing nature of the building — and the fact that not only the staircases, but also the doors, seemed unwilling to behave and stay where they were — it took Haru nearly an hour to find the room Zuko had taken over — and even that had taken some subtle earthbending to track the younger bender and some not-so-subtle earthbending to keep one of the staircases in place while he climbed. He came out of that one gasping; never before had stone actively _fought_ him. At last though, he came across the room and rapped on the door.

After a short pause, Zuko pulled it open a crack. "Oh," he said, recognizing Haru, and pulled it open a bit wider. He retrieved his shirt from the corner and pulled it back on. "What is it?"

"You think you're the only one who needs to drill, Zuko?" asked Haru with a small smile. "C'mon — it's nice outside. Not too hot. We can both practise non-bending combat out there."

"…I don't have practise swords here yet," Zuko pointed out.

"So practise on a tree," Haru countered. "Or we could both try unarmed."

"…Fine."

Haru led the prince outside and started doing some warm-up stretches while Zuko decided if he would spar with the earthbender or just beat up on a tree.

Apparently, he had decided on the latter, at least until Haru finished warming up.

After ten minutes, Haru shucked off his shirt. "So what'll it be, Zuko?"

Zuko set his swords aside by way of answering.

The brown-haired man grinned, and lunged for the prince.

* * *

Two days later, Haru set his letter down. "So in short, we've all three of us been accepted to this magic school."

Teo nodded — he'd figured his out while the older boys were sparring and refused to translate for them. "The second portion of the letter is a list of the supplies we'll need."

"Right," Zuko said — for once, he was actually in their room during the day.

"There's just one problem," Haru said.

Teo blinked. "There is?"

The earthbender nodded to the lists. "Supplies cost money. And we don't have any of this place's currency."

"…You're right. Dammit," the prince muttered.

"So we find a way to earn some!" Teo countered. "Place this big, there has to be something we can do!" He pushed himself to his feet, wobbled, and steadied himself.

"…right. But who do we ask about that?" Zuko asked.

"Professor McGonagall, of course," Teo said, tapping the letters. "She signed them as 'deputy headmistress', which means she's the second-in-command of this place."

"…Right, then."

"Then let's try to find her," Haru declared.

Zuko nodded.

Teo led the way, steadier on his feet than he'd been a week before. He'd decided to take the potion every Friday evening before bed, as a regulated schedule would lessen the likelihood he might forget. Zuko brought up the rear, retrieving his swords from the corner of the room on his way out.

It might have taken Haru or Zuko several hours to track down the professor, but Teo simply led them to the closest portrait — the one in their room had been removed at Haru's insistence — and asked it where the professor might be found.

"In her office, of course," the portrait, a rather snippy old man, informed them.

"We're new here," Teo explained patiently, his grin not dimming in the slightest. "Where would her office be?"

Just as snippily, he gave them directions.

"Thanks!" said the younger boy, leading Zuko and Haru away cheerfully.

"Portraits," Haru said yet again, "should not talk."

"Or should at least learn to keep their mouths shut around strangers," Zuko replied.

"Yes, that too," Haru agreed, keeping his voice low. "We'd be in trouble if certain people came across this place."

The younger bender nodded emphatically.

"Perhaps they think the moving staircases and the stubborn doors are security enough?" Teo asked.

"No such thing," Zuko declared.

"I did say 'think'," Teo muttered.

Haru ruffled his hair lightly. "Well, we've received no indications this place is at war, so we might be all right."

"Here's hoping," Zuko said, almost inaudibly.

A few minutes later, they found the office; Teo knocked promptly.

Professor McGonagall answered the door immediately. "What is it?" she asked, after ushering the three boys in.

As usual, Haru acted as spokesman. "We were able to translate your letters," he said, "and we noticed a problem."

"Oh? What is that?"

"We don't have any of the supplies required," Haru replied. "Nor have we money to pay for them."

She nodded. "The school has a fund to help you with that."

All three young men stared blankly at her. "…charity?" Haru asked at last, sounding as if the word itself left a nasty taste in his mouth.

"I assume you had something else in mind?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.

"None of us are accustomed to charity," Teo said then. "We were hoping you might have work for us to do in exchange for money."

She considered for a moment, then nodded. "I'm sure we can find something for you three to do."

Haru grinned. "Excellent!"

"Is there anything else you need?"

"…probably lessons on the currency you use," Haru admitted, "but I can handle that much on my own. My parents are merchants."

"Very well, then."

The earthbender bowed. "Thank you, professor."

"You're welcome."

It was eventually decided that the boys could take care of the gamekeeper's cottage while the man himself — Hagrid was his name — was away on business. Both Haru and Zuko noticed that they had not been told what _kind_ of business, which left them suspicious. Given the state of the place, however, the labour involved was certainly worth every coin they earned.

And so, the next few weeks passed quietly, until there was less than a week left for them before term started. When they hadn't been working, they were studying under McGonagall in order for them to catch up with the students their age — Haru and Zuko were far too old to like or accept being put in with eleven-year-olds, so it was imperative that they, at least, caught up. Fortunately for at least one of the classes, the professor left it alone — apparently there had been a several-year string of incompetent teachers in that class, so they would be better off starting fresh anyway.

Zuko applied himself to these lessons in his usual manner: if he beat it into himself long enough, eventually it would stick. Haru, on the other hand, quickly recognised his strengths and weaknesses — oddly enough for his being an earthbender, he had a certain knack for the subtler spells, and no talent at all for things such as Transfiguration. Both he and Teo excelled in Potions — in fact, Teo caught up to his year quickly, both because he had less work to do to catch up and because he really was quite smart. While Zuko and Haru continued their own catching up, he began struggling his way through a book called _Hogwarts: A History_.

"This is weird," he commented one afternoon. "They divide the years into groups of four according to… I guess personality?"

"…What do you mean?" Zuko asked, looking up from the book he was working through.

"Well, according to this, the clever students go to Ravenclaw. The bold, daring ones go to Gryffindor. The cunning, sneaky ones go to Slytherin. And everyone else goes to Hufflepuff." Teo frowned at his book. "Someone vandalised this book, though. They crossed through the bit about Slytherin and added 'evil'."

"…hopefully that's just personal bias."

"It could be," said Teo, rifling through, "but the book also says that a majority of the Dark wizards also come from Slytherin."

"Doesn't mean anything," Haru said. "Like you said, it seems to be by personality. Cunning and sneaky as personality traits also tend to walk hand-in-hand with ambition."

"Ambition doesn't always mean evil, though," Zuko felt compelled to point out.

"True. But several people tend to view it as though it was," Haru replied. "And with examples like Long Feng…"

The prince fell silent, suddenly very interested in the backs of his hands.

"My dad's ambitious, too," Teo pointed out.

Still Zuko said nothing, determinedly staring at his hands.

"Anyway, it doesn't matter," Haru said. "The only thing that worries me is that putting us in these Houses is an effective way of separating us."

"Yeah…" Apparently, he'd rediscovered his tongue.

"Psh," said Teo dismissively. "We're friends, right? Putting us in separate Houses won't stop that."

Startled, Zuko glanced over at him, then hastily looked away again.

Haru laughed and ruffled Teo's hair. "Yeah, you're right. Hey, Zuko?"

"What?"

"Let's keep up the sparring thing when the school year starts. We can teach Teo a bit, too."

He nodded. "Good idea."

"That'd be great!" exclaimed Teo happily, closing his book. "So when should we go shopping for our supplies?"

"Soon, probably. Term starts in four days," Zuko pointed out.

"Tomorrow would be best, I think," said Haru. "We get paid again then."

The prince nodded. "All right, then."

"Sounds like a plan!" Teo grinned at them both.

* * *

The next day, as planned, the three boys made a trip to Diagon Alley to get their school supplies. After some boggling at the sheer _variety_ of people in the streets — some were darker-skinned than Sokka and Katara, and others had the strangest hair colours any of them had ever seen, in varying shades of yellow and red.

"Where should we go first?" Teo asked Haru, who had been put in charge of the money.

"Robes first, I think," Haru said. "I also think we should buy them used and save some coin."

Zuko made a face. He didn't like clothes shopping. "Right."

Haru directed them all down the street until he found a used clothing shop, where it quickly became apparent that shopping with the son of merchants was a very good idea. He all but flew down the aisles, collecting robes and occasionally holding one up to Teo or Zuko. They were done in ten minutes.

"Now what?" Zuko asked, when they were finally done with that ordeal.

"Wands?" asked Teo eagerly.

It was hard for anyone to stand against Teo's puppy-face, and Haru was no exception. "All right," he said.

And so the three of them entered Ollivander's, the inside of which was creepy, to say the least.

"…this place is old," Haru whispered, feeling his shoulders tense.

"Good morning," a soft voice greeted them from the shadows. Zuko spun around to face it, drawing his swords.

Teo grabbed one of his wrists; Haru grabbed the other one. "Could you please not do that?" Haru asked the voice. "We're a bit jumpy."

"I apologise," the voice replied, and a thin, elderly man stepped into view.

The thirteen-year-old released Zuko, though Haru did not, and stepped forward. "You're Mr Ollivander?"

"Yes, I am."

"We need to purchase some wands."

"Of course," the old man said, with a faint smile. "Who would like to go first?"

"I will!" Teo said eagerly, but Haru pulled him back.

"No, I will," he said quietly. Teo looked disappointed, but didn't argue.

Ollivander nodded, and took out a roll of measuring tape, which began taking most bizarre measurements from the young earthbender.

"What the hell!?" Haru choked out as he realised the tape was measuring him _on its own_.

While the measuring tape performed its task, Ollivander disappeared deeper into the shop, returning with a stack of long, thin boxes.

"Are the wands in there?" Teo asked.

"Yes, young man. One in each."

"How do you choose which wand goes to a wizard?"

Ollivander only smiled mysteriously.

"…okay, that's just creepy," said Haru.

Zuko simply glared at Ollivander, having yet to put his swords away.

The earthbender opened his mouth to make another comment and sneezed as the measuring tape tickled his moustache.

"Here, try this one," Ollivander said, pressing a wand into Haru's hand.

Haru shrugged and waved the wand, which sputtered and then leapt from his hand.

Ollivander caught it, then pressed a second upon him. Before he could do anything, that one was replaced with a third, then a fourth, then a fifth…

Finally he got to the ninth wand — oak and dragon heartstring, ten inches — and waved it. The wand emitted a shower of green and silver sparks.

"Yes, yes, I think that one will suit you," Ollivander said, smiling again. "Who's next?"

"Me!" Teo cried, stepping to the fore.

The process Ollivander and his measuring tape had set out with Haru was now repeated with the youngest boy. For Teo, it took only three goes before his wand (rowan and unicorn hair, twelve inches) rained blue and silver.

Zuko was much more reluctant to place himself in the hands of the strange wandmaker, however, he didn't have much of a choice — especially since both Haru and Teo had come out unharmed. It took eleven tries to get him his wand — walnut and phoenix feather, ten inches. Nobody was really surprised at red and gold sparks his wand let out, since he _was_ Fire Nation royalty. Haru forked over the money for the wands and gratefully left the shop.

Zuko, too, was only too happy to leave. "Now what?"

"I think we can split up for now," said Haru, "and explore the place. We'll meet up at the bookstore. Be sure to watch your cash."

The younger man nodded.

"Can I go with you, Zuko?" Teo asked.

Zuko blinked, startled. "I… guess so…?"

Teo grinned. "All right!"

Haru laughed and went through their money, then turned two-thirds of it over to the other two.

"When are we meeting up?" Zuko asked, pocketing his share.

"Let's call it two hours?"

He nodded. "All right, then."

"Have fun. Zuko, don't be so quick to draw your swords. We don't want any undue attention."

"We'll be fine," Teo insisted.

"I'll behave," the prince muttered.

Haru tousled Teo's hair again, earning a protest, and slipped away into the crowd.

"So… where d'you want to go?" Zuko asked the younger boy after a moment.

Teo considered this. "…what's 'ice cream'?" he asked after some thought.

"…Hard to explain," he replied.

"Well, that place sells it. Is it good?"

"Yes."

Teo grinned up at him. "Then let's go check it out!" He tugged on Zuko's arm.

"Okay." Zuko allowed himself to be dragged, keeping a wary eye out for trouble out of habit.

Inside the shop, Teo was all but overwhelmed by the sheer variety of tasty treats, and eventually settled for a simple cone of chocolate chip ice cream. Zuko decided he didn't want anything, and they left the store, Teo enjoying his first encounter with ice cream. "Where do you want to go now?" he asked the older boy.

He considered for a moment, then led Teo into a pet store.

Once they were inside, however, both boys stared. They hadn't seen animals anything like these before.

"Can I help you?" the shopkeeper asked.

"Just looking," Zuko said, collecting himself and starting to wander. Teo followed, his eyes wide with delight. One of the animals, a sleek, black cat with white markings on three of her paws and the tip of her tail, claimed Zuko as her own. Never one to be deliberately rude to a lady (his sister didn't count), he bought her.

Teo in turn, wound up purchasing a kind of bird that the shopkeeper called a 'Barn Owl'. "I think I'll call her Mecha," he said gleefully.

"Zolena," Zuko replied, clearly meaning the name of his own new pet.

"That's a pretty name," Teo replied.

He nodded. "My aunt's name was Zolena."

"I see," the younger boy said. He paused for a moment, and then something else caught his eye. "Hey, a broom with a saddle!"

"…What would you need a saddle for?"

"Well, it's attached to the broom…" Teo bolted across the street to look at the shop.

Zuko followed. "We can't stay too long, we're supposed to meet Haru in half an hour."

"I know, but — wow!"

Zuko folded his arms — Zolena curled around his shoulders — and watched the street while Teo ogled the broom.

"Zuko! I think people _fly_ on these!"

"…Really?"

"Yeah! It'd explain the saddle — and that one has mirrors! I think to see behind you without turning your head…"

"That would make sense, yeah."

"…but they're really expensive," Teo noted, the glee in his voice dimming a bit.

"Sorry."

"Should we head for the bookstore?"

"Probably a good idea," Zuko said.

Teo took Zuko's arm again, taking care not to disturb Zolena, and dragged the prince after him again.

It took them a good ten minutes to find the bookstore.

Haru was waiting for them there, frowning at a book with disturbingly happy children enshrined on the cover.

"…what's wrong?" Zuko asked, noting the expression on his face.

"This is one of the books on our list," Haru replied, passing it to him. "'_Defensive Magical Theory_'. Anything about that seem… _off_?"

Zuko flipped through the book, skimming it as best he could. "…Yeah, definitely, listen to this. 'Counterjinxes are improperly named. Counterjinx is just a name people give their jinxes when they want them to sound more acceptable.' What the hell."

"…it's on my list, too," Teo said. "We're at different levels, shouldn't we have different books?"

"Anyone want to place money that this is another year for an incompetent Defence professor?" Haru asked wryly.

"…Well, here's hoping they don't really need a competent one." Even though Zuko knew that would never really be true — even in a peaceful world (as this one seemed to be), one still had garden-variety psychos and desperate men willing to kill you for your wallet.

"…I don't know," Haru said softly. "I overheard some wizards talking about Dementors, whatever the hell those are, attacking some Muggles, whatever _those_ are, in a village several miles away. Apparently it was unprecedented — there was a trial since one of the turned out a wizard and used magic and they're apparently not supposed to do that outside of school if they're kids."

"…All right, fair point." Garden-variety psychos, indeed.

"There's also a bit of a power struggle going on," Haru said, "or at least the people in charge of the government seem to think so. Let's buy our textbooks and get back to the castle."

Zuko nodded. "Yeah."

Due to Haru's insistence on used materials, they only wound up having to pay full price for the _Defensive Magical Theory_ books, thus saving quite a bit of money "for a trip to that village McGonagall made us sign permission slips for."

"Now that that's done, let's head back," Zuko said, once they left the shop.

"I'm for that. This place creeps me out," Haru muttered.

"I like it," Teo countered.

"You like everything."

Zuko didn't make any further comment, and the three of them returned to the castle without any mishaps.

The stowed their stuff, and then Teo settled down on the bed with _Hogwarts: A History_ again, giving Haru and Zuko a chance to head outside and spar once more.

A week later, the rest of the student body arrived.


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's Note from Puck: This was one of the chapters where we had to take lines directly from the book. We apologise for this._

* * *

A bit awkward, the three 'transfer students' stood apart from the smaller eleven-year-olds waiting to be called into the Great Hall for the Sorting. They could hear the whispers and feel the eyes upon them, but pretended not to notice. They'd known that there would be no help for standing out at this event; they could only hope that integration wouldn't be too difficult.

At last, they were all called inside by Professor McGonagall; the lowered murmuring in the hall increased as the students took notice of the trio of outsiders. To Haru's great relief, McGonagall chose not to comment on them, instead setting down the two items she was carrying — a stool and an incredibly worn hat.

Silence fell, and then a rip near the brim of the hat _opened_, and the hat began to _sing_, causing Zuko, Teo, and Haru to jump.

_In times of old, when I was new,  
__And Hogwarts barely started,__  
The founders of our noble school  
Thought never to be parted._

_United by a common goal,  
They had the selfsame yearning  
To make the world's best magic school  
And pass along their learning._

_"Together we will build and teach"__  
The four good friends decided.  
And never did they dream that they  
Might some day be divided._

_For were there such friends anywhere  
As Slytherin and Gryffindor?  
Unless it was the second pair  
Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw,_

_So how could it have gone so wrong?  
How could such friendships fail?  
Why, I was there, so I can tell  
The whole sad, sorry tale._

_Said Slytherin, "We'll teach just those__  
Whose ancestry's purest."__  
Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whose  
Intelligence is surest"_

_Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those  
With brave deeds to their name."  
Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot  
And treat them just the same."_

_These differences caused little strife  
When first they came to light.  
For each of the four founders had  
A house in which they might_

_Take only those they wanted, so,  
For instance, Slytherin  
Took only pure-blood wizards  
Of great cunning just like him._

_And only those of sharpest mind  
Were taught by Ravenclaw  
While the bravest and the boldest  
Went to daring Gryffindor._

_Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest  
and taught them all she knew,  
Thus, the Houses and their founders  
Maintained friendships firm and true._

_So Hogwarts worked in harmony  
for several happy years,  
but then discord crept among us  
feeding on our faults and fears._

_The Houses that, like pillars four  
had once held up our school  
now turned upon each other and  
divided, sought to rule._

_And for a while it seemed the school  
must meet an early end.  
what with dueling and with fighting  
and the clash of friend on friend._

_And at last there came a morning  
when old Slytherin departed  
and though the fighting then died out  
he left us quite downhearted._

_And never since the founders four  
were whittled down to three  
have the Houses been united  
as they once were meant to be._

_And now the Sorting Hat is here  
and you all know the score:  
I sort you into Houses  
because that is what I'm for._

_But this year I'll go further,  
listen closely to my song:  
though condemned I am to split you  
still I worry that it's wrong,_

_though I must fulfill my duty  
and must quarter every year  
still I wonder whether sorting  
may not bring the end I fear._

_Oh, know the perils, read the signs,  
the warning history shows,  
for our Hogwarts is in danger  
from external, deadly foes_

_and we must unite inside her  
or we'll crumble from within  
I have told you, I have warned you…  
let the Sorting now begin._

The students broke into stuttered applause punctuated by whispers, and Haru couldn't exactly blame them.

Zuko felt like banging his head against the wall and shouting "fuck you" to the Powers that Be. However, that would not only be ineffective, it would also draw unwanted attention. So he merely glared silently at the hat.

"That was… ominous…," Teo said softly, looking a bit uncertain.

Professor McGonagall then called Haru up. Hiding his reluctance, Haru made his way to the stool and settled down on it, managing not to cringe as the hat was settled over his eyes. The next thing he knew, a voice was speaking in his _head_.

"You're a clever one, there's no denying it," that voice — the hat!? — said. "Something of a prodigy as well, unless I miss my guess. Self-taught, are you? Well, I suppose war would account for that."

_What the **hell**_, thought Haru.

"Oh, don't mind me, I won't be long. Oh, but you're a shadowy one, aren't you? Appearance is bright, but under that you'll do anything to protect your friends. Add to that a touch of vengeance—"

_HEY!_

"—and a dash of cunning, and there's really only one House for you, Haru of the Earth Kingdom.

"SLYTHERIN!" screamed the Hat then, announcing his new affiliation to the school at large. Stunned by the experience, Haru numbly allowed himself to be directed to the table with green ties.

Next, Professor McGonagall called Teo up.

Compared to Haru, Teo's experience with the hat was rather short: "There's only one place for a clever lad like you, Teo-Who-Flies.

"RAVENCLAW!"

The boy eagerly bounced over to the blue table, and now it was Zuko's turn.

The prince's experience was likewise short, but no less uncomfortable for the young man. "It's nice when you're easy to place.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Zuko slid out of the hat and headed over to the red table, settling himself alone at the far end.

Unperturbed, McGonagall continued on to the first-years. "Abercrombie, Euan!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

After long last, it was over, and the professor collected stool and hat and left with them.

The old man at the centre of the high table — presumably the Headmaster — then stood up. "To our newcomers," he said, "welcome! To our old hands — welcome back! There is a time for speech making, but this is not it. Tuck in!"

Then food appeared on the tables, out of nowhere.

Only the strictest self-control kept Haru from jumping; he could already hear his new Housemates whispering to each other about him and he'd rather not add fuel to that particular blaze. Instead he applied himself steadily to his food, keeping one eye on Teo and another on Zuko.

The youngest of them, at least, seemed to be fitting into his new House well, chattering happily away with a slightly older girl with unusually light hair — though perhaps here that colour wasn't so unusual, one of his own Housemates had hair that was almost white.

Zuko, on the other hand, was not mixing with his Housemates — whether by his choice or theirs was unclear from this distance. Though, knowing him, it was more likely the former.

Finally, the students were replete, and the ancient man who was presumably the Headmaster stood up again. The noise level dropped again in response. "Well, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast," he declared, "I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start-of-term notices. Our new students ought to know that the Forest in the grounds is out-of-bounds—" Haru coughed slightly. "— and a few of our older students ought to know that by now too."

"Bet you five galleons Potter's back out there by the end of the week," one of the boys down the table muttered at the white-haired one.

"Make it ten," he replied, sounding bored.

Did nobody in this school have normal names?

"Mr Filch, the caretaker, has asked me, for what he tells me is the four-hundred-and-sixty-second time, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in the corridors between classes, nor are a number of other things, all of which can now be checked on the extensive list now fastened to Mr Filch's office door."

Haru couldn't help but snort quietly. "Killjoy much?" he muttered.

"Wonder what he added this year," the first boy from earlier muttered.

"We have had two changes in staffing this year," the venerable one went on, apparently oblivious to the whisperings. "We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures lessons; we are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

There was a round of polite but unenthusiastic applause, during which Haru looked at the teacher who had assigned the theoretical book. He got an overwhelming impression of _pinkness_ not dissimilar from Ty Lee, but unlike the friendly acrobat, this pinkness somehow managed to stifle and offend. Perhaps this was due to the fact that the shade Umbridge wore was more commonly attributed to seven-year-old girls.

"Ugh, what is she _wearing_?" a girl sitting next to the white-haired boy snorted.

"Looks like a unicorn barfed on it," another student agreed.

The old man continued, "Tryouts for the House Quidditch teams will take place on—"

He stopped then, looking over at the pink woman. It took Haru a moment to realise she'd stood up. She cleared her throat with an annoying '_hem, hem_' sound, making it clear she intended to make a speech.

The headmaster stared at her for a brief moment, then sat down, yielding the floor to her.

Judging by the expressions on the rest of the staff's faces, this was far from usual — or welcome.

A break from tradition, then. Haru turned his full attention to the woman as his eyes narrowed.

"Thank you, Headmaster," she said, in a voice as painfully sweet as her sweater was pink, "for those kind words of welcome." She cleared her throat again, gave a pointy smile at the student body, and resumed, "Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say! And to see such happy little faces looking back at me!"

Haru's jaw dropped open. She could _not_ possibly be serious.

"Oh my _God_," whispered yet another of his new Housemates. "What does she think we are? Six?"

"I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all, and I'm sure we'll be very good friends!" Apparently, she was.

"Friends," whispered an older student, making the word sound like a threat. "_Suuuure_."

Professor Umbridge cleared her throat again, and continued, now sounding decidedly less airy and more like she was reading a well-rehearsed recitation. "The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and loved by careful instruction. The ancient skills unique to the Wizarding community must be passed down through the generations lest we lose them forever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished, and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching." Here she paused to bow to the rest of the staff table.

"…what."

That simple sentence, uttered by yet another Housemate, summed up Haru's feelings succinctly.

She cleared her throat yet again, and pressed on. "Every headmaster and headmistress of Hogwarts has brought something new to the weighty task of governing this historic school, an that is as it should be, for without progress there would be stagnation and decay. There again, progress for progress's sake must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering. A balance, then, between old and new, between permanence and change, between tradition and innovation…"

Few people were listening anymore, judging by the faint buzz of chatter that had filled the hall.

Haru, however, was. That part about discouraging progress for progress' sake… he didn't like it. She spoke of balance, which was only proper, but something was _off_ about the way she spoke of it.

"…because some changes will be for the better, while others will come, in the fullness of time, to be recognized as errors of judgment. Meanwhile, some old habits will be retained, and rightly so, whereas others, outmoded and outworn, must be abandoned. Let us move forward, then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness, and accountability, intent on preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited." At last, she was done. She sat, and the headmaster (followed somewhat grudgingly by the rest of the staff) applauded.

Haru did not. The words she spoke were great, but the undercurrent to them… he would need time to decipher that speech, as well as more knowledge of the culture.

And the old man was rising again. "Thank you very much, Professor Umbridge, that was most illuminating," he said, bowing to her. "Now as I was saying, Quidditch tryouts will be held…"

"Illuminating like an _eclipse_," Haru growled softly.

A few moments later, the old man finished giving out his start-of-term notices and dismissed them all to go to bed.

As Haru rose with the rest of his House, he tried to catch Zuko's eye across the Hall.

He succeeded, and the other boy arched his eyebrow.

'_Meet me after lights-out_,' Haru mouthed at him.

Zuko nodded once, then followed his housemates upstairs.

The older bender did the same, though his lot headed downstairs towards the dungeons. _Amusing. The 'evil' House is lodged in the place most cultures seem to consider a prison_, Haru thought.

An hour later, Zuko was waiting for him just outside the room the three of them had stayed in over the summer. "So, what'd you make of Professor Pink's speech?" Haru said without preamble.

"Apart from the fact that she needs to go back to propaganda school?" he asked, dryly.

"Yeah, that's about what I got from it too." Haru sighed. "I learned that my House doesn't like being talked down to."

"A girl in my House thinks it means that the Ministry is taking over the school. Judging by her tone and the way her friends' reacted, this isn't normal here."

"Government interference. Why, I wonder."

"I couldn't say."

"Me either. But this, combined with the theoretical book? Something's going down behind the scenes."

"Definitely."

Haru frowned. "The girl in your House — did she comment on the discouraging of progress for progress' sake?"

"That was one of the quotes she used as evidence."

"And it sounds similar to something a soldier in my village said once," Haru said quietly. "Anti-Fire Nation propaganda. He didn't really last long — we were still occupied at the time."

Zuko nodded, not looking at him. "I don't like this."

"I don't either. What's the situation with your inter-House politics?"

"Divided. This fifth-year kid, Harry Potter, was something like their standard-bearer up until this past summer. Now half the House thinks he's insane."

Potter. The white-haired kid had mentioned a Potter. "Do you know why?"

"I didn't ask for the details. But the fifth-years' room is next to the seventh-years, and he and one of his year-mates had a shouting match about it. Apparently, something happened last summer, to a kid named Cedric, and the newspaper is saying that both Potter and the headmaster are lying about the details."

"…I think we need to find out what those details were," Haru said.

"Definitely," Zuko agreed.

"Also, watch out for my House," Haru warned. "A lot of these kids are nasty pieces of work — spoiled brats who think they own the world."

Zuko rolled his eyes. "Sounds like three quarters of the kids I grew up around."

"Granted," Haru said. "The current master of the House is a fifth-year named Draco Malfoy." He put a slight emphasis on _current_.

"Is that good or bad?"

"Can't tell yet," the older bender said. "I'm not the topic of interest right now."

Zuko nodded. "Right, then."

"He won't ever be too much of a danger," Haru said with a small smile.

Zuko arched his eyebrow. "How can you be sure?"

"Because I could arrange an overthrow and get someone else as master of the House easy."

"Are you going to?"

Haru waved a hand. "Not unless provoked."

Zuko shrugged. "If you say so."

"Anything else?"

"Nothing I can think of right now."

"Right. Same time tomorrow night?" He made no mention of their morning exercise — that was a completely separate event that happened no matter what.

He nodded. "Same place?"

"Yeah."

"See you then, then," Zuko said, then stood up to wander for a while until he felt like going to bed.

Haru shook his head and snuck off back to his dorm, taking care not to be caught.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day, the seventh-years had their first class with Professor Umbridge.

The earthbender had surprisingly been looking forward to this class — he wanted to see if his suspicions about the uselessness of this course were, in fact, correct. He entered the class and found a seat in what he considered 'the safe zone' — slightly closer to the front than to the back and two seats over from the window.

Zuko slid into a seat next to him mere seconds before the bell rang.

"Well good morning, everyone!" Professor Umbridge said, with that vaguely disturbing cheeriness, from the back of the room.

Only the strictest self-control kept the young earthbender from twitching.

Zuko, too, tensed, gripping his swords, knuckles going white.

Of course, Professor Umbridge could hardly fail to notice this. "What are those, dear?"

The prince stiffened further. "These are my swords," he said, sharply, his grip tightening again.

Sensing trouble, Haru quickly added, "Family heirloom. He won't go anywhere without 'em. I'm pretty sure he keeps them under his pillow. You know how it is."

"That may be, but I'm afraid I don't allow weapons in my classroom. Give them to me."

Zuko stared at her for a moment, then pulled the blades a little closer to himself. "No!"

_She clearly doesn't understand_, Haru thought, annoyed. _And she isn't going to try. She's been challenged in her domain by someone she considers inferior. She won't accept that._

"Give me the swords. Now," the teacher repeated, her smile turning a little uglier.

"_No_," Zuko snapped back.

"Detention. Tonight, my office. Give me the swords."

The prince glared at her and, very deliberately, rose, so he was now looking down on her. "Make me."

"_Zuko_!" snapped Haru now, his tone clearly stating that the younger man needed to stand down. He didn't really anticipate that happening.

Zuko ignored him. And then Umbridge called what she clearly thought was a bluff, and reached for the swords.

He slugged her, breaking her nose.

The earthbender gave up, mentally rehearsing excuses for whoever was certain to question him later. So much for standing out as little as possible.

Umbridge stood stock still for a moment, then stalked over to her desk, scribbled something on a very pink piece of paper, and told Zuko to go see Professor McGonagall. He bowed, deliberately, and so deep it _had_ to be an insult, then spun on his heel and strode out of the room.

Haru in turn buried his face in his arms and mumbled about fire, tempers, and spoiled rich brats. "Now, then," Professor Umbridge said, when she'd collected herself and fixed her nose. "Wands away and quills out, please."

_That_ caused a stir among the class, enough for them to (temporarily, at least) forget Zuko's earlier performance.

She then tapped the blackboard. Writing appeared on it: "Defence Against the Dark Arts: A Return to Basic Principles".

_Okay_, thought Haru, _so this is a review in case the students forgot anything over the break. That makes sense at least_.

"Well, now, your teaching in this subject has been rather disrupted and fragmented, hasn't it? The constant changing of teachers, many of whom do not seem to have followed any Ministry-approved curriculum, has unfortunately resulted in your being far below the standard we would expect to see in NEWT-level students.

"You will be pleased to know, however, that these problems are now to be rectified. We will be following a carefully structured, theory-centred, Ministry-approved course of defensive magic this year. Copy down the following, please."

She tapped the board again, and the writing changed. "Course aims:

1. Understanding the principles underlying defensive magic  
2. Learning to recognize situations in which defensive magic can legally be used  
3. Placing the use of defensive magic in a context for practical use."

Haru blinked. _That… does not make sense_. He raised his hand. "Um, Professor?"

"Yes?" she said, clearly annoyed by this interruption to her lesson plan.

"This… might just be a cultural thing I'm not understanding here," he said carefully, trying to sound as though he wasn't _actually_ questioning her or her methods, but rather his own ignorance, "but wouldn't actually _using_ the spells assist us in learning them?"

"It is the view of the education experts at the Ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be more than sufficient to get you through your examination, which, after all, is what school is all about," she replied. "Now, then. Has everybody got a copy of _Defensive Magical Theory_, by Wilbert Slinkhard?"

"…definitely cultural," muttered Haru, taking out his own copy of the book.

"Now, please turn to page five and read chapter one, 'Basics for Beginners,' and take notes. There will be no need to talk."

Rolling his eyes, Haru did as directed. It took about half a page before he decided that this exercise was incredibly stupid and changed his note-taking from what was in the book to what he had learned about his House and the culture in general. This would be far more useful to him in the long run.

When the class was finally over, he lingered — there were two other Gryffindors in this class, a pair of redheaded twins, and he wanted to talk to them.

"What d'you want?" one of them asked, noting that he was waiting for them.

He noted the unfriendly question and ignored the tone of voice, instead saying mildly, "I wanted to talk to you about Zuko."

"Why?" the other twin asked, folding his arms and studying the earthbender.

Haru sighed. "Because he's my friend and I can't keep as close an eye on him as I'd like after this stupid House separation."

The twins exchanged a long look, then shrugged. "What do you want to know?" the first one asked, still sounding more than a little suspicious.

The earthbender hesitated a moment. "I… I'm not quite sure how to word this. Um. Well, knowing him… is he pretty much retreating to the nearest darkest corner and brooding?"

"…yeah, most of the time," the second twin said.

"Except for moments like in class there," the first one added.

"That was _brilliant_."

A small smile crossed Haru's face at that. "He's never been overly tolerant of stupidity." The smile quickly faded, however.

"So, he does that a lot?"

"Broods like that?"

"He has since joining me and Teo, anyway," said Haru carefully. "I think it's because he… well, he turned his back on his own people and everything he knew." _Careful, Haru. Don't give away too much_.

"Oh."

"Right, then."

Haru quickly changed the subject. "Perhaps you can clear something up for me. What, exactly, has your Ministry so worked up that they're changing things this year?"

Identical dark expressions crossed the twins' faces. "What, you haven't heard the rumours?" the second twin asked.

"I'm still getting used to your culture," he explained. "So no, I haven't."

"They don't believe Harry and Professor Dumbledore when they say You-Know-Who is back," the first twin explained, after a brief moment.

"…who?"

"…You-Know-Who."

He barely refrained from rolling his eyes. "I come from an island that made leaving it a taboo. I've spent my entire life there and am only recently finding out about the outside world. I really don't know who."

"Look it up, then."

Now he did roll his eyes. "Thanks for your help, then," he said coolly, walking away from them. At least nobody here'd managed to force shoes on him yet. He could keep track of those twins using the cool stone floors in case they tried anything while his back was turned.

They didn't, merely headed off upstairs somewhere, drowned out quickly by hundreds of other footsteps.

Much displeased, Haru began to run, moving to the outside walls and taking a route around the castle to blow off steam.

Zuko was nearly two hours late to their meeting that night. His right hand was wrapped in a bloody handkerchief. "Sorry I'm late," he said.

"…what happened to your hand?" Haru asked, frowning.

"I cut it. Anything interesting happen to you today?"

"Yeah. I found out why the government decided to interfere this year."

"Why?" Zuko asked.

Haru summarised the rise and fall of Lord Voldemort for the prince, then continued, "And now that Potter kid and the Headmaster are claiming this Dark Lord is back. Plus I found out that after the Dark Lord was taken down the first time? The Headmaster was asked to become the Minister of Magic."

Zuko was silent for a very long moment. "So, basically, either the Ministry is right, and Dumbledore is trying to take over, using the heroic poster-boy for all that is Good and True to stir up trouble to do it, the Ministry is wrong and working with this Lord Voldemort person, or the Ministry is wrong and playing frightened ostrich-horse."

"That's pretty much what I figured," the earthbender replied.

"…The Potter kid's really convinced, though. So either he's a damn good liar, or he's telling the truth. He had detention with Umbridge tonight too. For lying about something."

"Bet you three coppers it's that this Voldy-thing is back?"

"Not taking that bet, I'm almost positive he is." Zuko frowned at his bloody hand. "…I really hope the Ministry's working with him, if that's true. 'Cause the alternative…"

"The alternative means we're looking at a war," said Haru quietly. "Another one. And none of these kids are going to be ready when it hits."

"Either way, we're looking at a war," the prince replied woodenly. "It's just a question of how many sides it'll have."

"Maybe we'll be able to av—" Haru stopped, holding up a hand. "Somebody's coming."

"…In here, quick," Zuko said, dragging the older boy into a nearby room.

Haru closed the door and then his eyes, trying to figure out who was coming. After a moment, his eyes snapped open, and he mouthed _janitor_ at Zuko.

The prince banged his head against the wall silently, then mouthed _broom closet_ back at Haru.

Shrugging, the earthbender put one hand to the wall and quietly sank bars of rock into the wood.

The janitor, at precisely that moment, reached the door. His keys rattled, and he tried to pull it open. Swearing, he tried a few more times, then stalked off to find a more cooperative closet.

Haru tracked him, then when he was gone, put the stone back where it was supposed to be and slipped out of the closet with Zuko.

"I think we should probably meet somewhere else tomorrow night," the younger bender whispered.

The other man nodded. "We have astronomy tomorrow night. We can stay after the rest of the class leaves."

"All right, then." Zuko slipped off, hopefully back to his dormitory.

Haru followed suit, uncertain. He didn't like any of this. It felt as though his foundation was crumbling beneath his feet.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day, Madam Hooch managed to corner Haru and Zuko and drag them both out with her to learn to fly. There was no need to corner and drag Teo; the young teen was all but _bouncing _alongside her in his joy. On seeing what they were expected to fly _on, _however, Haru balked. "No. No way. My feet are not leaving the ground," he said.

Zuko, too, was reluctant. "I'm not trusting myself on anything that weighs less than I do," he said, flatly.

Madam Hooch gave both of them incredulous looks. "How do you expect to get _anywhere_ without flying?" she asked.

"I'll walk, thanks," said Haru.

"I prefer sailing," Zuko replied. "Overland, I'll walk."

She opened her mouth again, but Teo intervened. "They don't like heights. How does this work, anyway?" Distracted, she moved on to teach the young man, who to nobody's surprise proved to have a natural gift for flight.

"I don't mind heights," Zuko muttered, quietly enough that only Haru could hear him. "I just don't trust a stick to keep me up there."

"He had to tell her _something_ — oh, that kid is going to break his _neck_." Above, Teo had finished a loop-the-loop and was now executing a barrel roll.

"No, he's not. He knows what he's doing."

"He knows what he's doing with a glider," countered Haru, even though it was obvious that Teo understood the mechanics of flying on a broom just as well as he did with a glider. Above, Teo dove towards them and pulled up sharply at the last moment, tumbling intentionally from the broom and rolling to their feet. Laughing, he looked up at both of them.

Despite himself, Zuko smiled faintly. Haru, however, rolled his eyes. "Airbenders."

The thirteen-year-old blinked at him. "But I'm not an—"

"You've got the soul of one," the earthbender interrupted him.

Zuko's smile faded slightly, but not entirely.

Teo laughed again and rolled to his feet. "I wanna do that again!" he declared, and then was chasing after his broom happily. Haru groaned.

"You're going to give Haru a heart attack," Zuko said, wryly.

"Am not!" Teo retorted, picking up the broom and bolting back to them, his ubiquitous grin on his face.

The prince just shook his head. He was still smiling.

Teo tilted his head to one side. "…I've never seen you smile, Zu," he commented, then mounted his broom and kicked off.

Zuko blinked a little, startled both by Teo's comment and the unexpected nickname. Haru put a hand on his shoulder. "Congratulations, Zu," he said with a slight smile of his own. "You've got a friend."

"I…" He boggled a little. This…wasn't what he'd expected. He wasn't a likeable person, dammit! People didn't want to make friends with him.

Except somebody did. And, apparently, somehow had.

He frowned down at his bandaged hand, trying to make sense of this new development. _I can't… he can't be friends with me, I'm going to die in our war, assuming I survive this one. It's too cruel to Teo to be his friend now_.

The young man's laughter drifted back down to both of them.

* * *

After class that night, Haru and Zuko lingered on the astronomy tower until Haru marked the all-clear. "Anything interesting come up?" Zuko asked. Professor Umbridge had given him detention for a month, save only for the nights when he had astronomy.

"Several disturbing things. Apparently this Dark Lord everyone is afraid to name? Voldythingy?"

"What about him?"

"Some of his minions are still around. They call them Death Eaters." Haru rolled his eyes. "My House's ringleader is the son of two of them. And he considers it a badge of pride. They also hate non-magic folk, and magic folk born to nonmagic folk."

"…I'll ask around my house about them. Our houses seem to be rivals, I'll probably get a completely different picture than you've been getting."

Haru wasn't listening. A dreamy look had crossed his face as a pleasing thought came to him.

"…What are you thinking about?"

"Just that there's this girl I'd _love_ for them to meet."

"Oh?" Zuko turned to him and arched his eyebrow.

"Well, she wouldn't really fit their definition of magic." Haru paused. "I think. Teo does, even though he's not a bender."

"Ah. Right then." Clearly, whatever story was behind this wasn't coming out.

Haru shrugged, blushing faintly. "She's not here, anyway. So the point is moot."

"Guess so."

"Tomorrow, then?"

"Sure. I have detention again, I'll meet you after that. Where?"

"Library."

"Right. See you then." He stood and wandered off.

* * *

Unfortunately, that next meeting would be delayed for awhile, due to events nobody could have foreseen.

They began when Teo had his first Defence class. Confused about the theoretical approach Professor Umbridge had mentioned, the young man raised his hand.

"Yes?" she said, slightly irritated, pointing at him.

"I don't really understand, professor," he said. "Do you mean we're not going to actually practise the spells?"

"The education experts at the Ministry believe that a theoretical approach will be more than sufficient to get you through your exams."

Teo, the child of a century-long war, then asked, "But what if someone attacks us?"

"No one is going to attack you in my classroom," she snapped. "Come to my office tonight at six, for detention."

Stunned, the boy stared at her. "Detention? But—"

"Sit down and open your book," she said, sharply.

Confused and upset, Teo obeyed.

* * *

Zuko and a dark-haired fifth year boy he vaguely recognized as a Gryffindor were already at Umbridge's office when he arrived.

"Hi, Zu," he greeted the firebender listlessly.

"…What are you doing here?" he asked, surprised.

"I got detention," he replied.

"What _for_?"

"I don't know!" Teo exclaimed. "I just asked her what would happen if we got attacked, and she gave me a detention!"

Zuko clenched his fists, accidentally tearing open the half-healed marks from his last detention. _I must control my temper_.

The younger man took the seat next to Zuko, still clearly confused about what he'd done wrong. Professor Umbridge reminded Zuko and the fifth-year Gryffindor (Harry Potter, apparently) of their assigned tasks, and told Teo what she wanted him to write.

Obediently, he put the quill she'd provided to paper and began to write, and pain suddenly jerked across his hand. Startled, he gasped and dropped the quill.

"Is something wr—"

Before Umbridge could finish her deliberately cruel question, Zuko had launched himself over his desk at her, swords drawn.

"Zuko, _no!_" Teo flung himself after the firebender, knocking his desk aside, and wrapped his arms around the older man's waist, stopping him short of his target. "It isn't worth it!"

"Let _go_, Teo," the prince hissed.

"No, Zu, it isn't worth it!" he repeated, tightening his hold. Potter just stared at them both, his eyes wide.

He pulled away, breaking the younger boy's grip as gently as he could, launching himself at the teacher again.

"_Stupefy_!" she shouted, and Zuko dropped to the ground midleap.

"_Zuko!_" Teo didn't really remember moving, but he found himself between Umbridge and Zuko, staring defiantly at her.

His trembling ruined the effect somewhat.

"Go back to your lines. Both of you," Umbridge snapped at Harry and Teo.

Teo shook his head, staying where he was.

"_Now_."

Behind Teo, Zuko stirred — either Umbridge's spell wasn't as powerful as she thought it was, or the firebender was just too damned stubborn to stay down. "Teo. Haru's in the library. Go find him."

"I'm not leaving you," Teo said, continuing to stare at the professor. He couldn't stop shaking, but Zuko had to be protected.

"Teo, _go_," Zuko said, quietly, giving the younger boy a gentle nudge towards the door. There were people who would actually care if anything happened to Teo. He had to be protected.

"But, Zu—"

"_Go_."

Teo _ran_.

As Zuko had said, Haru was in the library; once Teo had spilled what had just happened to him, the earthbender snarled. "Go back to your common room," he ordered the younger man. "_Now_." As Teo fled once more, Haru bolted for Umbridge's office, hoping he'd get there before there was a murder.

Zuko was unconscious on the floor again — apparently, he'd made a second try for Umbridge's head, and she'd Stunned him again. Potter was still at his desk, wand out, eyes wide, staring as though he had been body-bound. Taking a brief moment to compose himself — the last time he'd been this angry had been on that prison ship when the warden had mocked Katara's attempts to rally the imprisoned earthbenders — Haru strode into the office. Cold. Cold was better than heat.

"What do you want?" Umbridge asked him, not taking her eyes — or her wand — off of the unconscious prince.

"An explanation as for why I have a frightened thirteen-year-old boy with a bleeding hand coming to me for protection from a teacher."

"He was impertinent. I gave him a detention."

"Teo? _Impertinent_?" Haru's voice was heavy with scorn.

"Yes. He questioned my teaching decisions."

"…let me guess. Theoretical lessons as opposed to a practical every now and again?"

"Yes, if you must know."

"I am legally considered his guardian," Haru snapped. "I must. Further guessing, he mentioned a possibility of being attacked."

"And I informed him that there was no need to fear attack in my classroom."

"Because that's the best way to reassure a child who's grown up with a war, I'm _sure_."

"He was still impertinent," Umbridge said coolly.

"Wrong," Haru said flatly. "He was confused. He doesn't quite understand that this place is safe."

"That may be so, but he is still a student in my classroom and directly contradicted me. This is impertinent, and I will not tolerate it."

Green eyes narrowed dangerously. "And I will not tolerate you _making him bleed_ for a misunderstanding. I thought this was a _school_, not the army."

"This is a school. And children who misbehave must be punished. How else will they learn?"

"Then let me spell this out for you," Haru said, towering over the diminutive professor. "If you hurt Teo again, I will make you _regret it_. I do not need your course, I do not need to graduate this school. I don't need your _magic_. Don't hurt him again."

"I am sure he will give me no further cause to," she said, coolly.

Zuko was starting to stir again, which, if Haru wanted to avoid further violence, was probably a good indicator that it was time to leave. As he knelt to draw the prince over his shoulder, he noticed something.

There was fresh blood on Zuko's hand.

There was fresh blood on Potter's hand.

Teo had been bleeding.

The papers on the desks glistened with red liquid slowly drying to brown.

Haru's eyes narrowed even further. "_Indeed_." He finished pulling the Fire Nation prince over his shoulder and left the room.

A few moments later, Zuko woke up completely. "Put me down."

"No. Play unconscious until we're outside."

The prince clearly disliked this idea, but acquiesced. Once they were outside and a good distance from Hogwarts, Haru did let Zuko down. "Something you'd like to share with the class, highness?"

"What do you mean? And don't call me that."

"You tried to kill Umbridge. And while I _completely _sympathise… _why_?"

Zuko stared at him for a long moment, then shook his head. "No."

"No?"

"There are some things about my life that I _do not_ discuss. This is one of them. So _drop it_."

_Personal buttons pushed. Got it._ Haru dropped it. Or at least, he snarled, "_Fuck_ this," and destroyed a nearby boulder. "You have _got_ to control yourself, Zuko! Did it occur to you that that little stunt could get you fucking _arrested_?"

Before Zuko could respond, they were interrupted by a teenaged girl appearing suddenly between them and falling to the ground.

Startled, Haru turned to her, and complete and utter shock drove the rage away as he helped her up. "_Ty Lee_?!"

"Pan!" she cried out, delighted, and hugged him, tight as she could. "It's so good to see you again! And Zuzu, too!" He, too, was attacked and nearly bowled over. Then she pulled away and slugged the prince, as hard as she could. "You're a _jerk_, you know that? Mai's really mad at you."

"I explained—"

"You left her a _letter_, Zuko."

"…wait, the pointy girl?" Haru asked. "Zuko, you know the pointy— of course you do, Azula's your sister. What the hell did you _do_?"

"I… well, I had to leave. To… well. Yeah. And… I explained everything, I left her a note…"

"…you broke up with her," Haru realised. "In a _note_? Great, she's going to kill us all and it'll be your fault." He paused. "…except Teo. Teo's too cute to kill. She'll just adopt him."

"I didn't break up with her, exactly," Zuko insisted.

"You told her you released her from any obligation she felt she owed you, and that you had to do this, and you were sorry. Sounds like breaking up to me," Ty Lee said, dryly.

"To me, too," Haru agreed before getting distracted by other important things. "Ty Lee, how did you _get_ here?"

"Well, I was out in the garden, figuring out a new trip. I misjudged a distance, and ran into a statue, and… then I was here."

"…again with the statues," Zuko muttered.

"It's what happened to us, too," Haru explained to her.

"…_Weird_. So, where are we, anyway?"

"A country called Scotland. Specifically, just off the grounds of a school called Hogwarts."

"…A school? That's a weird name. Also, I've never heard of Scotland."

"This is a different world, Ty Lee," Zuko said quietly.

"…oh, _wow_."

"Yeah," Haru replied. "We've managed to keep _that_ little fact secret. Which reminds me, we need to fit you into our story, too." He considered.

"She comes from my town, too. She ran away to join us," Zuko suggested, after filling her in on the broad outline of their story.

"Close enough to the truth to confuse even Toph," Haru agreed. "Does that work for you, Ty Lee?"

"Sure," she said. "Also, what's your real name, Pan?"

Now the earthbender stared at her. "…you knew that wasn't my name?"

Ty Lee rolled her eyes. "I'm bouncy, not stupid."

"I don't like stupid girls," Haru said softly. "And my name is Haru."

"Haru," she tasted the name. "Yes. I like that. It suits you."

The young man flushed.

She grinned and hugged him again. "It's good to see you again."

He folded his arms around her this time. "It's good to see you too," he whispered. He'd seen her on the Day of Black Sun, and his heart had leapt into his throat.

Apparently she hadn't seen him.

She grinned up at him, and Haru smiled back at her. "Let's get back to the school so we can get this out of the way."

"All right." She followed the two boys up to the castle.

"Zuko, go back to your dorm," Haru said as they slipped inside. "I'll take Ty Lee to get sorted out. And find some way to keep them from locking you in a mental ward."

Zuko glared and wandered off, possibly to his dorm, but more likely just to wander.

"So, um… what happened to his hand?" Ty Lee asked, when he was out of earshot. She knew better than to ask when Zuko was around, as he would get annoyed, deny that there was anything wrong, and change the subject.

Haru hesitated. "He… got a detention with one of the teachers here."

"Oh. What for?"

"Refusing to surrender his swords. And then punching her when she tried to take them from him."

Ty Lee sighed. "Doesn't surprise me."

"I think he tried to kill her tonight," Haru said after a moment. Ty Lee knew Zuko much better than he did. Perhaps she'd be able to offer insight.

"…What for?" she asked, puzzled. As attached as Zuko was to his blades, his swords weren't worth killing over — his knife, maybe. But not the swords.

"I'm not sure," Haru admitted. "From what Teo told me, Zuko didn't snap until he — that is, Teo — was hurt during the detention."

"…Who's Teo?"

"Oh — he's a friend of ours. His village colonised the Northern Air Temple when he was a kid; he wound up coming here with us." Haru sighed. "He's thirteen; in this world I'm considered his legal guardian."

"What was he in detention for, do you know?" Ty Lee asked, after a moment.

"_Impertinence_," Haru snarled suddenly, his temper flaring again.

"…no wonder he snapped."

Haru blinked, confusion driving the anger down slightly. "What do you mean?"

"Well, that's sort of why he got this —" she lightly touched her left cheek, just under her eye " — when _he_ was thirteen."

"…it's _why_?" Haru frowned. "I thought the scar was a training accident."

Ty Lee shook her head. "I don't know all the details — I was back home for my oldest sister's wedding that whole week — but… well, from what I've been told, he went into a strategy meeting. One of the generals proposed something he thought was a bad idea, I mean ethically a bad idea, and he said so."

"Right…"

Slowly, Ty Lee told him the whole story, and the earthbender's eyes went wide. "Holy shit…"

"After that, he was banished, sent off to hunt for the Avatar. He couldn't come home unless he was successful."

"…no wonder he tried to kill her," Haru whispered. "Not only is Teo his friend, it probably triggered every switch he has."

Ty Lee nodded. "Yeah."

He sighed. "Hopefully, there won't be a repeat performance. I'm going to the heads of House tomorrow and exerting the rights I've got as Teo's legal guardian. And now I have to come up with something to explain away Zuko's justifiable attempt at homicide."

"Without telling the whole world about his disgrace, 'cause then he'd hate you forever."

"About half of everything I tell these people is a lie anyway." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "They still haven't caught on that we're from a different world."

Ty Lee nodded. "That's probably good."

"It's very good. There's — oh, shit, we didn't have a chance to tell you yet. There's a strong likelihood that this world will experience a war soon."

"…that sucks."

Haru brought her up to date on everything he and Zuko had been able to discover, and sighed. "So far I don't think Teo's noticed, but we'll have to tell him eventually."

She nodded. "Yeah, probably."

He heaved another sigh, and continued leading Ty Lee towards the Headmaster's office. When they were almost there, though, he stopped suddenly, looking at the slim acrobat.

"…What is it?" she asked, looking up at him.

The older man reached out and hugged her close to him. "I missed you," he murmured.

She hugged back. "I missed you, too," she whispered back.

Looking down at her, a thousand thoughts warred within Haru's mind:

_She's the enemy._

_She's never threatened you._

_She's friends with Azula._

_And with Zuko._

_Azula more so._

_She hasn't even considered attacking you._

_She doesn't know you've been fighting._

_But that doesn't apply in this world_.

_That is the _stupidest_—_

He kissed her. She kissed back.

Forgetting completely about Dumbledore — and well, everything — he tightened his hold on her and lost himself to the moment. Ty Lee twined her arms around his neck and melted against him. It took someone clearing their throat to bring Haru back to reality.

"Can I help you?" Professor Dumbledore asked, sounding rather amused, rather than annoyed, to find a pair of teenagers making out just outside his office.

Then again, he'd been working at this school for over fifty years, and Headmaster for at least thirty-five of those years.

Startled, Haru jerked away from Ty Lee. "Um. Hi, professor," he said, flushing and trying to gather his thoughts.

"Hello," Ty Lee said, brightly. "I just got here, that's why we came to see you, I ran away from home, too, worried about my brother, and I ran into him and my boyfriend—" she squeezed Haru's hand, to indicate him "—and we were taking a minute to catch up before talking to you."

Haru nodded, putting an arm around her shoulders. "It's been awhile since we last saw each other."

"I see," the headmaster said, smiling. "Well, then. Welcome, miss." Turning to Haru, he said, "For now, she can stay in the room you boys used over the summer."

"Yes, sir. C'mon, Ty Lee." He escorted her away from the headmaster.

"Well, I'm glad he wasn't mad," Ty Lee said. "Hopefully I can find Zuzu and tell him he's my brother now before anyone asks him about his sister and he says something weird."

"Or freaks ou— wait, did you just call him _Zuzu_?"

"Yeah. That's what we used to call him, when we were kids. He hates it."

"Huh. We'll see if he lets Teo keep calling him Zu, then."

"Right."

A few turns, and they were outside the… guest room, Haru supposed it was. "Oh, Ty Lee?"

"Yeah?"

"Be careful. Some of the kids here are… _very_ prejudiced against people who aren't wizards. And we won't know about you for a bit, I don't think. So get out of the way if anyone points a thin stick of wood at you."

"…Okay," she said, a little confused, but willing to trust his warning.

"Oh — and mudblood is an insult here. So feel free to hit back." He kissed her forehead.

She tilted her head up and caught it with her lips instead. "I will."

"I'll introduce you to Teo tomorrow," he said. "I think you'll like him."

"I'm sure I will," she replied, grinning.

"Good night, Ty Lee."

"Good night."

He showed her into the room, then snuck back to his own dorm. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

* * *

_Author's Note: If you're wondering how Ty Lee and Haru know each other enough to be making with the face-sucking so soon, I suggest you hop along to my profile and take a look at _Just One Night_, which is considered canon to this story._


End file.
